The South African southpaw who knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in one of the great upsets in heavyweight boxing has died.

Ex-boxer Cornelius "Corrie" Sanders of South Africa died Sunday after being shot by armed robbers who burst into his nephew's 21st birthday party, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.

By:Gerald ImrayThe Associated Press, Published on Sun Sep 23 2012

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA—Corrie Sanders, the South African southpaw who knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in one of the great upsets in heavyweight boxing, has died after being shot by robbers at a restaurant during a family celebration.

The former WBO and WBU champion was 46.

Sanders was shot in the hand and stomach at a family member’s 21st birthday gathering at the restaurant in Brits, in South Africa’s North West province, on Saturday night, police said. He died in a hospital in the capital city Pretoria in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“It’s very sad,” Sanders’ former trainer Harold Volbrecht told a South African radio station. “My heart is broken. It’s just terrible. I can’t believe it happened.”

Police Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said three armed men entered the restaurant with the apparent intention to rob it and shot randomly, hitting Sanders. No other injuries were reported. The robbers took a cellphone and a bag from customers, Ngubane said.

No arrests had been made but a murder investigation has been opened.

Renowned for his impressive hand speed, the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Sanders was one of South Africa’s most successful and popular fighters after a near 20-year professional career that included the South African, WBU and WBO heavyweight title belts.

He then lost to Wladimir’s older brother Vitali for the vacant WBC title the following year, Vitali’s first fight for the title he still holds. Sanders had earlier relinquished his WBU crown in a seventh-round stoppage by Hasim Rahman after being ahead in their fight in 2000.

South African sports figures, television personalities and entertainers all paid tribute on Sunday to the popular Sanders, who also was a single handicap golfer.

Born in Pretoria, Sanders began his professional boxing career in 1989 with a first-round TKO of King Kong Dyubele. Eighteen of the fast-starting Sanders’ 31 career knockouts came in the first round.

He claimed the South African heavyweight title in 1991, but his demolition of Wladimir Klitschko in Hanover in 2003 — when he knocked the champion down twice in the first round — was by far his best and most famous fight.

It is one of only three losses for the Ukrainian and current WBO champion. Sanders only agreed to the fight at short notice, was a 40-1 underdog and the result was voted as the upset of the year by Ring Magazine.

Sanders hung up his gloves in 2008 after being knocked out by Osborne Machimana for the South African heavyweight title — ironically in the first round.

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